Amalfi Coast of Italy

I need say nothing more...this is my favorite place on

Earth.

As we go along this week I'll show you some images from my

visits to Italy.  The fabulous shots were taken by my son, Steve,

who is a commercal photographer of some note.  Some are just

family photos taken by my dear incapacitated husband, Ned, who

always had a camera in his hand.  I knew when we went the last time

it would be his final trip to Europe and I planned every little detail

to make him happy, including taking our 7.5 lb poodle, FiFi, with us.

me with FiFi

this image is the wallpaper on my computer,

I see it every day and still marvel at the beauty.

we rented a villa between Sorrento & Positano in a little place called

Massa Lubrense

where we had a 180 view of the Mediterranean Sea.

a place we could enjoy without any stress, a pool and

this view that only God could give you.

The hotel where Ned & I stayed on our 1st visit to Sorrento

Hotel Bellevue Syrene

http://www.bellevue.it/

the hotel's beautiful dining terrace overlooking the steep cliff & the sea

Daytime in the Villa Pompeiana Restaurant with view to Vesuvius

evening in the hotel's formal dining room,

everything white glove service,

& the most beautifully presented plates of Italian cuisine.

hotel's beach area...aren't the umbrellas just too pretty for words?

the hotel had a grotto with a real swimming pool, but it was mostly in the

shade in the afternoons, and the social part of me & Ned wanted to be

among the other visitors.

craft like this were common-place, as were huge sailing craft...at night

when they had all their lights on the rigging & around the sides if you

were driving on the coast road high above the sea you could see how

beautiful the aquamarine water is...each time I saw this I gasped with delight.

my little yacht

just another little street scene

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below, some of the jewelry I might wear in this part of the world,

 created in our Studio Splenderosa

kyanite, aquamarine & blue topaz, with iolite

genuine stick coral on sterling

14k gold with peridot, topaz, amethyst, citrine, carnelian, blue topaz, tournamine  

14k gold with angel skin turquoise

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multi-strand top-drilled freshwater pearls with vintage pendant

18k gold single strand necklaces with single drop of

various semi-precious stones,

which could be any material one desired,

all faceted by hand

freshwater keshi pearls with green amethyst

Hand Braided Peridot Rondelles

with large Green Amethyst Pendant

              

                                       Large Aquamarine Rondelles w/14K Gold Chain

Funky Multi-Strand Necklace, to just throw on and go

14K Gold Hand Faceted Chain, Angel Skin Turquoise Rope

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Bracelet, Blue Crystal Quartz, Peridot, Tourmaline, Jade

& Freshwater Pearls

Sterling Silver Wired Cuff

with various pink stones & pearls,

Swarovski crystals add sparkle

Bracelet, Angel Skin Turquoise Beads Hand Wired on

Sterling with vintage Clasp

4 Bracelets Stacked

Various Art Glass Beads, Vermeil Bali Beads

with Turquoise & Peruvian Opal

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and the perfect outfit, one you could literally wear every day

Italian Etro

note:  add a bra or cami

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special note, don't wear jeans

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the most wonderful reason to rent a house/villa is that if many people are travelling
it ends up being almost the same price as a hotel room,
but you have a big piece of property, your own pool,
your own kitchen, your own laundry, a housekeeper/cook,
and the ability to immerse yourself into the local
culture...you go shopping for wines, groceries, fruits, vegetables,
fish, wines, local delicacies, wines
and you have the time for true friendships to develop with
the local shopkeepers, restaurant owners, etc.
We celebrated Ned's birthday at a little trattoria
owned by our housekeeper's son...on a little sidewalk in Sorrento.
We met people from England, Ireland & Germany who all
had birthday cake with us.

The homes we've rented have been in locations we had been previously

so we knew we wanted to go back and

spend a lot more time soaking up everything. 

For me, those places are always on the water somewhere.

Tomorrow, photos of the villa we rented + Positano

& more fashion & jewelry